Yes January 27th is the day when people throughout the world remember the victims of the Nazi Holocaust and of more recent genocides in Cambodia, Darfur, Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq and Palestine.

Numerous ceremonies to remember the victims of these atrocities have taken place up and down the country including here in South Tyneside where each year the Mayor hosts a ceremony on behalf of the people of the borough to make the occasion.

Apparently today’s guests included a select band of children, members of the public, church goers, a few council officers, a handful of councillors and the usual band of Labour party activists – Mr Monkey is still waiting for details of these scrounging bastards but can confirm that Pat Morris and Jack Brown were seen loitering around the buffet table.

The ceremony itself apparently included several readings, recitals, a prayer, and a few words (via letters) from our local MP’s. There was also a flower laying and candle lighting ceremony.

Mr Monkey can confirm that although today’s ceremony was well attended it seems most councillors, executive directors of the council and business leaders couldn’t be bothered to turn up.

According to a source inside the town hall only 11 councillors out of a possible 54 had the decency to make an appearance, these included: councillors Alex Donaldson, John Anglin, Peter Boyack, Jim Foreman, Ahmed Khan, Jane Branley, Joan Meeks, Tom Piggot, Jimmy Sewell, Ernest Gibson and Alan Kerr.

The King of Sleaze Tory Boy David Potts and his two stooges Wood and Millburn, all three Liberal Democrats, the two representatives of the We’ve Finally Made Our Mind Up Party Real Independents councillors Lurch and Red Rum Haram and Elsom plus their new lackey Tom Defty were all conspicuous by their absence.

Apparently the Progressives didn’t bother turning up because they still think its 1986.

Mr Monkey reckons that each and every one of you lazy bastards who couldn’t be bothered to turn up should hang your heads in shame – in the words of the King of Sleaze .. “you’re a disgrace”.

Mr Monkey tips his hat to Liberal Democrat councillor Joe Abbott for confirming what most of us already know; On View, the council’s spin machine magazine is a waste of money.

According to this piece in the Shields Gazette, Malcolm Fanzine, CLICK HERE councillor Abbott welcomes the proposal to reduce the number of the council’s On View magazines published each year from six to five – saving £20,000. But he reckons the council should reduce the number further and said: “Why not make it a quarterly? Many residents put it straight in the bin anyway.”

Seems the Liberal Democrats have realised that On View is nothing more than an expensive ‘hobby horse’ for Irene Lucas and at the same time she’s allowed it to become the ruling Labour group’s unofficial magazine. How else can you explain why every edition is swamped with articles and photographs of Labour councillors, activists and their relatives?

Mr Monkey reckons that councillor Abbot deserves credit for his comments but thinks that he didn’t go far enough – come on Joe it’s time to bin On View for good.

Spending £120,000 per year on council and Labour party propaganda is unacceptable when the same people are proposing to hike the cost of meals provided at luncheon clubs and daycare centres from £2.80 to £3.80 and also plan increasing the cost of council home-care services from £9.80 to £10.80 an hour.

This chimp wonders whether anybody in the chief executive’s or leader’s office has a conscience?

A CONSERVATIVE councillor has spoken of his bitter disappointment over being dumped from a new power sharing executive to run South Tyneside Council – after Labour Councillors voted against a recommendation put forward by their leader. Instead they supported an opposition amendment to replace him with a Liberal Democrat.

Cleadon and East Boldon councillor David Potts hit out at a new Lib-Lab pact which has resulted in two of the nine top cabinet spots going to Liberal Democrats and one to the South Tyneside Progressives – leaving the Tories out in the cold.

Councillor Potts had been vice chairman and chairman of the Select Committee for Environment, Housing and Transport and Safer and Stronger Communities challenged the move to replace him with LibDem Councillor Joe Abbott when the new executive cabinet takes control of running the council later this month.

But at a special meeting of Labour councillors, who make up the largest single party on the hung council, members this week voted against the proposal put forward by their leader councillor Iain Malcolm 16-8 to hand the Jobs, Enterprise and Regeneration portfolio to Councillor Potts.

Said Councillor Potts: “I feel horrible about it.

“It is very disappointing when the Labour leader promised me this position and then his colleagues vote against me preferring instead to make a pact with the Liberal Democrats.”

Councillor Potts said he was surprised by the size of the vote against him especially after he had been given assurances by Councillor Iain Malcolm that the meeting would rubber stamp his appointment.

“Labour councillors had offered a lot of support for me before the meeting, but for some reason changed their minds when it came to the vote.”

He said he would continue to serve as a councillor and now devote his energies to representing his constituents.

Other oppostion councillors to get a place on the cabinet are LibDem Jo Atkinson, Independent and Healthy Lives and Progressive Jim Capstick, Safer and Stronger Communities who today dismissed suggestions that the Progressives, for so long the main opposition to Labour until the rise of the Independents, had sold out.

“We have entered the executive on our terms and with the clear intention of playing our part and using our abilities for improving the borough,” he said.

“It will be run as a non-political executive, if it becomes political and we are dissatisfied with what goes on, we can, at the end of the day, leave it.”

Former Real Independent councillor, George Elsom had been earmarked as the Lead Member for Equality and Diversity until his defection to the Socialist Workers Party.

The main opposition group on the council, the Independent Alliance refused to seek places on the executive because Labour would not agree to a constitution which reflected the evenly split nature of the elected council, opting instead for an executive which left them well in charge.